Fools
by Pandora Prima
Summary: My first ff. Extended Songfic based on I'm the Fool by Lee Ann Womack. P.S. I don't own anything except the plot and Charlotte. D/G.
1. Charlotte's Confession

Charlotte stood outside the pub, taking a deep breath.  "_Pull yourself together, girl.  You've got to do this,"_ she thought to herself, tugging down the edge of her dress.  She closed her eyes, thinking of her boyfriend, Draco Malfoy.  He was so perfect, with his pale blond hair, porcelain skin that a blemish never touched, his Quidditch chiseled body, down to his…well.  She smiled, thinking of what they had done the night before.  The smile disappeared just as quickly as she thought about why she was here.

She opened the door to the pub and coughed once at the smoke in the air.  She looked around quickly and spotted the red hair that she was looking for.  Ginny Weasley sat at the bar, talking amiably to the barkeep and sipping her drink.  Charlotte steeled herself and walked to the bar, thinking about what she would say.

She reached Ginny sooner than she wanted to and tapped her on the shoulder.  Ginny looked up at her, confused.  "You don't know me, but I know who you are.  Mind if I sit down?"  Ginny shook her head.  "Do I look familiar?"  Ginny shook her head again and Charlotte took a deep breath before continuing.  "If I don't, well I should.  I'm sure you've seen me around.  I know you've probably heard my name, though we've not been introduced.  I'm the fool in love with the fool who's still in love with you."  Charlotte extended her hand

She saw realization dawn in Ginny's eyes as she took her hand.  "Charlotte, right?"

Charlotte nodded her head, knowing she had to get it all out before she lost her nerve.  "If you've got a minute, I'll buy you a drink.  I've got something to say.  It might sound crazy, but last night in his sleep, I heard him call out your name.  This isn't the first time; he's done it before.  And it's hard to face the truth.  But I'm fool in love with the fool who's still in love with you.  I know love is a fragile thing.  And I'm trying hard to make it last.  But it isn't easy holding onto my dream when he's holding onto the past."

Ginny stared at her, at a loss for words.  Charlotte knew she should go, before she embarrassed herself further, but she had to finish what she came to say.  "Just one more thing, before I go.  I'm not here to put you down.  You don't love him, that's a fact.  Girl I've seen you around."  She felt the tears in her eyes coming, and she looked away as she finished, "But you hold his heart in the palm of your hand, and it's breaking mine in two.  I'm the fool in love with the fool, who's still in love with you."  With that she turned, tears streaming down her face, leaving Ginny speechless behind her.  

As Charlotte stepped into the night she wiped her tears away and Apparated to hers and Draco's flat to pack.  She left him a note explaining why she had left, and she set off to start a life where she could love someone who would return her love.


	2. Ginny Remembers

Ginny sat stunned in the pub.  "What the hell just happened?" she said, out loud.  The girl had come in and told her that Draco was still in love with her.

"Draco.  That's someone I haven't thought about in a long time."  Her mind began drifting back to her sixth year at Hogwarts, five years earlier.

* * * 

Ginny walked out to the Quidditch pitch on a sunny spring afternoon to watch her brother and Harry practice.  They only had one game left, against Slytherin.  A series of circumstances had prevented it from being the first game in the fall, but Ginny felt it would be much more exciting to win the cup beating Slytherin.  She looked around the thawing grounds, smiling at the green that was beginning to peek out from the grays and browns of winter.  The last snow had melted just a few days ago, and Ginny couldn't wait for the grounds to be back to their normal beauty.  Just then, she spotted something that made her stop.  A figure in a black cloak was watching her walk.  She could tell who it was, just by his pale blond hair, even though he was a fairly good distance from her.  "Malfoy.  What the bloody hell is he doing watching me?"  She started walking again, not taking her eyes off of him.  

She shook herself just before she walked onto the pitch, calling herself a fool for thinking about him.  But she found that she wasn't able to concentrate on the practice that day.  Her thoughts kept drifting back to Malfoy, standing there, looking very regal.  A few times she thought of the few times she had seen him in the halls that year.  He had certainly grown up, that was for sure.  He was tall now, not as tall as Ron, but he had an inch or two on Harry.  And Quidditch hadn't hurt his body, or what she could tell of his body from his robes, in any way.  She also couldn't forget his icy gray eyes that always seemed to bore through her.

She didn't even notice that practice had ended until Ron called to her from the edge of the pitch.  "Ginny!  Come on!  It's getting dark!"  She grabbed her things and ran towards them.  The Trio, as she called them in her mind, were as tight as ever.  Ron and Hermione had started dating at the end of sixth year and Harry didn't seem to mind.  He had had a short fling with Cho Chang before she graduated, but since then he had remained single, and seemed to enjoy it.

Ginny had long since given up on her crush on Harry and she was happy for him.  She herself had only dated a few boys, including Colin and Seamus.  Ron had surprised her by not blowing up when they told him, and she realized that even though he was her over-protective big brother he did want her to be happy.  She also felt that Hermione had had something to do with it and had been sure to thank her.

Thoughts of the boys she had dated brought her mind back to Malfoy.  "I'm going to have to find him and ask him what the hell he thinks he's doing, watching me," she thought to herself, laughing at a joke that Ron was telling.

As she slept that night Draco Malfoy haunted her dreams.

For the next week she caught Malfoy looking at her at least twice every day, if not more.  She tried to fight her way through the crowds to talk to him, but he always disappeared before she reached him, frustrating her to no end.  She began to think she would never get the chance to talk to him when she was pulled into an empty classroom on her way to the library on Friday.

"What the fu-" she was cut off by lips on hers, pressing hard.  She struggled for a moment before realizing who it was.  She had done this countless times in her dreams for the past week, and before she knew it she was wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him back, just as hard.

He pulled back after a minute and smirked at her.  "Weasley, I didn't know you had it in you."

She slapped him.  Hard.  "There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Malfoy."  She spit his name out, as if it hurt her to even say it.  "Now, I want to know why the hell you've been watching me."  She gave him her meanest look, wishing she could kill him with it.

Malfoy still hadn't recovered from the slap and was fingering the bright pink mark on his cheek gingerly.  He looked down at her, anger in his eyes.  But there was something else there too.  Something Ginny hadn't seen in his eyes, or any mans eyes, for that matter, but she couldn't place what it was.  "What the bloody hell did I do to deserve that, Weasley?"  He spit her name, just as she had done to his.

"You've been watching me for a week!  And now, you pull me into a classroom and molest me, and you want to know what you did?"

Malfoy smirked.  "I didn't see you complaining about the 'molestation', Weasley."

"And I notice you're avoiding my question.  Why the hell have you been watching me?"

Malfoy's smirk wavered for a moment, but was soon back in place.  He snorted indignantly and pushed past Ginny.  Ginny wasn't slow, though.  She'd been brought up playing Quidditch and other games with her brothers and growing up around Fred and George had certainly helped her reflexes.  Before he could reach the door she had pulled out her wand and locked it.

"Oh, no you don't.  I'm tired of you running away, Malfoy.  I want some answers and neither of us are going anywhere until I get them."

He turned, giving her a look that would have made most wither, she was sure.  She refused to back down to him though and just smiled at him.  "You aren't serious."  He gave her an even meaner look.

"Of course I am!" she replied glibly, turning.  She found a desk and sat on it, looking at him.  He hadn't moved from his stance by the door and was trying to murder her with his eyes she was sure.  "You are aware that I am not afraid of you?"

He took a deep breath and cocked his eyebrow.  "And what does scare you, Weasley?  Money?"

"Ha-ha.  Very funny.  Nothing scares me, Malfoy.  Nothing has, not since…"  "_Riddle_." She thought to herself.  She mentally berated herself for almost letting it slip.  She didn't notice that he had moved until he was inches from her face.  

"Since what, Weasley?"  It was almost whispered and she could feel his hot breath on her lips. She noticed that it smelled cold.  She looked him in the eye and saw amusement and the thing she had seen earlier.

"Since it's none of your damn business, Malfoy," she answered quietly but defiantly, never taking her eyes from his.  She would be damned if she let him in on her past or her weaknesses.

"Well, we'll see about that."  He closed the space between them, covering her lips again.  This time she didn't fight it.  She heard herself moan as she wrapped her arms around his neck again.  He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush to him, almost making her fall off the desk, and forcing her legs apart.  She could feel him and groaned at the thought of what they could do in a locked empty classroom. 

He broke the kiss and began trailing them down the side of her face and to her neck.  She gasped as her reached a sensitive spot on her throat and she felt him smile as he ran his tongue lightly over it, making her moan.  He kissed his way up to her ears, nipping them a bit before whispering, "I'll know your secrets soon enough, Virginia."  He gave her a final kiss on the lips before turning and heading to the door.

Ginny recovered herself quickly and said "You still haven't answered my question, so where do you think you're going."

Malfoy turned back to her.  She saw his eyes widen and she looked down at herself.  Her legs were still spread and she could feel her lips beginning to swell, and she blushed, though she did nothing to correct either thing.  She merely looked back up at him, smiling coyly.  She decided right then that she was going to play this as far as it would go.

"So, little Weasley likes to be kissed."  Malfoy smirked as he walked back to her.  

"So, little Malfoy likes kissing me."  She smirked back at him, not moving.  He stopped just in front of her again, making her breath catch as he came centimeters from kissing her.  

"What gives you that idea?"  He cocked his eyebrow slightly.  

Ginny laughed and put her hands on either side of his waist, pulling his pelvis to hers.  She ground hers slightly to his, feeling his erection, and said "That's usually a dead giveaway."

He smirked at her again and said,  "Well, we do have a whole classroom to ourselves," before kissing her again.  She pulled away for a second and muttered a silencing charm on the room before going back to Malfoy.

* * *

Ginny smiled as she thought of the fun they had had the rest of that semester.  They had written each other a few times during her seventh year, but the distance proved to be too much for them and they had decided mutually to see other people.  She hadn't heard from him in two years, though she saw articles in the Daily Prophet about him occasionally.  He had surprised everyone by becoming one of the most generous contributors to charities throughout the Wizarding world.  He played Quidditch professionally for the Wimbourne Wasps, and most of his pay went to charity from what Ginny had heard.  He and Harry had actually faced off in a few matches, Harry playing for the Canons, of course.  

She had dated on and off through the years, but she always ended up comparing them all to Draco, and they simply couldn't compare.  The more she thought about what Charlotte had said, the more she realized that the girl had been wrong.  She did love Draco, still, after all these years. She had tried, in vain, to forget him, and had even left the wizarding world for a year once.  It had not helped and she had missed her family so she had returned.  

She was now working at the ministry, taking over her father's old position in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department, and she loved her job.  That didn't stop her for going to the pub a few times a week and drowning her troubles.  She had been blessed to be a good drinker, so she didn't have to worry about hangovers and the like, unlike her brothers.  She never understood why they drank as they did, after she had taken care of them on more than one occasion.

Ginny's heart contracted as she thought about the best three months of her life, the ones spent with Draco.  She had long given up hope that he felt anything for her anymore, or that she would ever even see him again.  She ordered a shot of Ogden's as she thought about Draco.  "Make it a double."

"_He says my name in his sleep?_" she thought to herself as she downed the hot liquid.


	3. Draco Remembers

"Charlotte!"  Draco's calls echoed off the wall of his expensive flat.  That was nothing new, as the place was huge.  But she usually answered him.  "_Or come out in some lingerie, at least_," he thought to himself, setting his things down.  Practice had run over today and he was looking forward to a massage.  "Charlotte?" he called again, still getting no answer.  His heart sank as he realized that it had happened again.

He made his way to the bedroom, knowing that she wouldn't be there, and that he would find her things all gone.  This wasn't the first time this had happened.  He would get involved with a woman who would be young, very attractive, and never Virginia Weasley like in the least.  But as much as he made sure that they weren't her at all he wanted them all to be.  He remembered what his last girlfriend, Samantha, had done when he had said Ginny's name in the heat of the moment one night.  He had had to buy all new furniture after that escapade.

He was lucky that he could afford to do that, but he had been able to get a good amount for Malfoy Manor, which he had sold after his father had died at the hands of his "master".  Just before Dumbledore killed Voldemort, Draco had watched his father die and he still felt no sorrow for it.  Unfortunately Lucius had spent almost all of their money on what he had dubbed "The Cause."

If Draco had been forced to chose any of the girls he had been with since Ginny he would have chosen Charlotte.  She reminded him a lot of Ginny at times, so much that it hurt.  He saw immediately that she had taken her things and left him a note and the necklace he had given her for their anniversary just last week on the dark blue satin pillow case.

Draco sat heavily on the bed, picking up the note.  He read it carefully and found himself agreeing with most of the points that she made.  He didn't love her.  Not like he should.  He stopped breathing when he saw her name on the paper.  "_Ginny_".

…_I went down to the pub and told Ginny about all of this.  I thought maybe she should know that you still love her, and that she can still have you.  I do love you, Draco, but I also understand that your heart is no longer yours to give.  It has never been.  Go after her Draco and make yourself happy.  Farewell, Draco, and good luck._

_                                                                        Love Always, Charlotte._

Draco read and reread the part about Ginny, taking in every detail.  He regretted that Charlotte had left, but he knew she was right.  He would never really be happy with anyone but Ginny and it would be selfish of him to make any girl stay.  He sighed as he stared at the wall, remembering how he had first fallen for Virginia Weasley.

* * *

She was, by far, the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life.  Her flaming locks of auburn hair exuded a passion that he longed to explore, while her soft freckle covered face shone with an innocence he longed to protect.  And her eyes held a laughter that he had never seen in anyone before.  He had only seen her in passing for most of the year, frustrating him to no end.  Finally, one afternoon as he was walking around the lake alone, to think, he saw her walking to the Quidditch pitch.

He couldn't move as soon as he saw her.  When he would remember it in years to come he would be surprised to find that he survived those few minutes, as he forgot to breath for several of them.  He could have sworn he was looking at an angel as she walked across the grounds.  He saw her eyes on him, questioning and curious, but he didn't care.

At that moment he would have done anything, and felt as he could have done anything.  But he just stood and watched her.

He watched the entrance to the pitch for several minutes, before getting a hold of himself and going back inside.

Over the next week he found himself watching her more and more.  She often tried to make her way to him, but he would always slip away in the crowd before she reached him.  He didn't know what he would say or do if she were that close. 

He never planned out how they would meet, that day in the room, it just sort of happened.  He had ducked into the classroom to get away from Crabbe and Goyle.  They were handy to have in a fight, but sometimes he got tired of them following him around, especially after almost seven years of it.  He hoped the quietness would help him think, as it was something that he rarely found.

Just then he saw her walking by and acted without thinking.  He reached out of the room and pulled her in quickly.  He silenced her with a hard kiss.  He had never felt closer to heaven as he did at that moment.  She struggled at first, but then she wrapped her arms around his neck, and he could think no more.

It took great effort, but he finally broke the kiss and smirked at her.  He fished around in his mind for something to say and said the first complete sentence that came to him.  "I didn't know you had it in you, Weasley."

The next moment his world was fire as she slapped him, hard on the cheek.  He barely heard her talking over the ringing in his ears.  "There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Malfoy.  Now, I want to know why the hell you have been watching me."

He looked up to find her glaring at him.  He raised his hand to his cheek and felt gingerly at the area on his cheek that felt as if it had been branded with fire.  He was pissed, and he was sure his look showed it.  But he couldn't keep the feelings that he had been having towards her out of his eyes either, making her look at him strangely.  As soon as he trusted himself to speak he asked, "What the bloody hell did I do to deserve that, Weasley?" spitting her name as if it were vile.

She looked indignant and rather angry herself.  "You've been watching me for a week!  And now, you pull me into a classroom and molest me, and you want to know what you did?"

Draco thought about it for a moment, smirking.  "I didn't see you complaining about the 'molestation', Weasley.  "

She was quick in her response.  "And I notice you're avoiding my question.  Why the hell have you been watching me?"

He couldn't tell her, he wouldn't.  What she would think of him if he told her the reason he was watching her, was something that he couldn't fathom.  He decided that the best thing for him to do would be to leave, and to do so quickly.  But somehow she was faster than he and the door was locked before he reached it. "Oh, no you don't.  I'm tired of you running away, Malfoy.  I want some answers and neither of us are going anywhere until I get them."  

He knew that no simple "Alohomora" would open this lock and turned on his heel, angry again.  He gave her his most withering look and she simply smiled at him.  "You aren't serious," he said, narrowing his eyes even further.  In his experience people ran from this look, but it seemed to have no effect on the girl.

"Of course I am!" she said with a grin.  He simply watched as she found a desk and sat on it, very primly of course.  She looked as though she were ready for a long wait, and he glared at her.  No one had ever treated Draco Malfoy with such disrespect.  Then she said something that caught him off guard.  "You are aware that I am not afraid of you?"

He'd never heard that before and he took a deep breath before speaking, cocking his eyebrow.  "And what does scare you, Weasley?  Money?" 

She gave him a scathing look.  "Ha-ha.  Very funny.  Nothing scares me.  Not since…" her voice trailed off as she looked through Draco, obviously remembering something that haunted her past.  

He strode toward her, and didn't stop until he was mere centimeters from her face.  She didn't seem to notice until he got right there.  "Since what, Weasley?"  He looked at her eyes as they trailed down his face to his lips.  He almost smirked, but held it back.  

She looked him in the eye and answered, "Since it's none of your damn business, Malfoy."  She looked at him, defiance in her eyes.

He wanted nothing more than to kiss her at that moment and he did, after saying, "Well, we'll see about that."  She wrapped her arms around him more willingly this time and he almost lost it as he heard her moan.  He grabbed her waist and pulled her to him, forcing her legs apart.  He heard her groan and broke the kiss.  He trailed them down her face, to her neck, and throat.  He grinned as he heard her gasp when he kissed a certain spot on her throat and decided to have a bit of fun.  He lightly ran his tongue over the spot, eliciting another moan from her.  He knew that if he didn't end it soon he wouldn't be able to end it at all, and he doubted that she would want that.  He kissed his way up to her ear and gave it a nip before whispering, "I'll know all of your secrets soon enough, Virginia."  He gave her a final kiss on the lips before turning to the door, having every intention of leaving and taking the coldest shower he could conjure.  He had forgotten about her lock until she spoke behind him.

"You still haven't answered my question, so I don't know where you think you're going."

Draco groaned inwardly and turned to face Ginny again.  When he saw her, his breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened.  She was beautiful and welcoming and he knew right then that he had to have her.  She looked down at herself for a moment before looking up and giving him a very sexy smile.  "_Oh, shit.  What the hell are you doing, Draco_?" he thought to himself as he began walking towards her.  His mind raced as he tried to think of something to say.  "So, little Weasley likes to be kissed."  He reminded himself to slap himself for that later.  Until he heard her response.

"So, little Malfoy likes kissing me."

He stopped just before her, putting his lips only centimeters from hers.  "And what gives you that idea?"  he asked her, cocking his eyebrow.

Time stopped as he heard her laugh before putting her hands on either side of his waist and pulling their pelvis' together.  He almost died as she ground hers against his, still smiling as she said, "That's usually a dead giveaway."

He knew at that point that there was no turning back and he knew just how this would end.  "Well, we do have a whole classroom to ourselves," he said, pulling her into another kiss.  She broke it and uttered what sounded like a silencing charm before kissing him again.

* * *

Draco sighed as he climbed out of the past.  So she knew.  He remembered briefly the last time he had seen her.  It had been a few years ago, at a Quidditch match he was playing in.  He had nearly fallen off of his broom when he saw her, but he had made sure to catch the snitch that day.  He had written her a letter not long afterwards thanking her for coming to the match.  Her reply had come shortly and he had never even opened it.  There was so much that one letter could contain and he didn't believe he wanted to handle what was in the letter.  He often looked at it when he missed her the most, usually in times like now, just after another girl had left him because he was calling out Ginny's name in his sleep, or at other inopportune moments.  He took it out now, pausing in the closet to marvel at how little space Charlotte had taken up.

He studied the envelope again, as he had so many times before.  Her handwriting was so delicate and Virginia like.  He turned it over and saw the Weasley seal.  The seal that said they could never be.  A Malfoy and a Weasley.  There were so many things that simply could not be fixed, too many damages done that could not be undone.  And though he was not his father, he still felt resentment towards the Weasleys.  Perhaps it had been that they were so poor and yet so much happier than he had ever been with his millions of Galleons.  Weasley's didn't care about what society would think, they acted as if they were the ones who lived their lives and that was something that Draco envied, though he would never admit it to anyone, even himself.

He thought again about what Charlotte had written in her letter.  "Go after her Draco and make yourself happy."  He smiled bittersweetly to himself.  "Make myself happy."  He hadn't been happy since Ginny and he doubted that he would ever be truly happy with anyone else, but he couldn't just go and find her and expect her to welcome him back.  _Why bloody not?  I'm Draco fucking Malfoy._

At that one thought he made up his mind.  He got quickly off the bed and headed for the door, and, not really knowing where he was going, he set off to find happiness.


	4. Decisions

Ginny's vision was beyond blurry as she downed her tenth double shot of Ogden's.  She sounded slurred even to herself as she ordered another.  The barkeep looked at her concernedly. 

"I think you've had enough for tonight, Gin."

"Nonsense.  Just let me have one more."

The barkeep sighed and poured her another shot.  She didn't drink it immediately, just staring at it for a minute.  She couldn't remember what it was she had started drinking to forget, which she took as a good sign.  She picked up the glass, ready to drink it when a voice she never thought she would hear again spoke to her.

"Virginia."  He sounded breathless and it took her a moment to realize who it was talking.  She looked at him slowly, afraid of swift movements.  When she finally saw him she nearly dropped the glass.

She could tell, even through the blurry vision, that he was more perfect than he had been when he graduated Hogwarts five years earlier. "Draco?"  She didn't trust her mind at the moment, and wanted to make sure it was really him.

Draco nodded slowly as he looked at her more closely.  "Are you…drunk?"

Ginny looked back at her glass and studied it for a minute before it sank in what he had asked.  She looked back at him before answering, very slowly and deliberately, "Yes."

He looked concerned, which made her giggle.  "How many of those have you had?" he asked, pointing to the drink in her hand.

She looked back at her drink and downed it before answering, "Eleven."  

"Eleven?  That was a double!"

She looked back at him, smiling.  "And your point?"  She couldn't stop herself from laughing, and almost fell off of her seat.  Draco caught her, and she sobered for a moment as she felt his arms around her.  She looked up into his eyes, still the same smoky gray eyes that had haunted her dreams.  They stared at each other before the liquor hit her again and she laughed once more, leaning heavily on Draco.

"I think you've had enough, Virginia," he said pushing her back up into a sitting position and took the seat next to her, hand still on her arm.

The barkeep looked over and said, "I've been trying to tell her that since her sixth.  She won't listen.  I'd like to know what that lady said to her that made her drink like that."

Ginny looked at Draco and tried to think.  Charlotte…she had said that Draco still loved her. And now here he was.  "She said that you still loved me Draco."  She looked him in the eye, trying to find something in them while swaying slightly.

He looked away from her gaze though, looking down.  "Yeah, I know.  She told me."

Ginny thought for another moment.  "Draco, why are you here?"

She tried to look into his eyes again, but almost fell out of her seat instead.  "Somehow I think that this is a conversation best had while you are sober.  Come on."

He paid the tab and went to help Ginny up.  She stood on her own, albeit very unsteadily.  "I can walk on my own, thank you very much."  She looked towards the door.  _That doesn't look too far off,_ she thought to herself.  As she started walking towards it, however, it seemed to move away from her.  She felt Draco grab her arm again as she swayed while taking a step.  She shook him off, determined to get there on her own.  She took three more steps and felt herself falling.

"Shit!" She heard Draco curse as he caught her.  "Alright, Virginia, you're not going to make it out of here on your own."

"Yes, I am!"  She tried to get out of his grip, but he wouldn't let go.  Instead he picked her up, making her scream.  "Put me down, Draco Malfoy!"

He laughed at her as he carried her out the door.

* * *

She was as light as a feather, even while she was kicking and screaming.  Well, he figured she thought she was kicking.  _I can't even drink five double shots of Ogden's.  This girl is beyond drunk, she's plastered.  I hope she doesn't puke here,_ he thought to himself as he stepped out the door.  He realized that he had no idea where her flat was.  "Hey, Gin, settle down.  Where's your flat?"

She stopped moving and looked at him, concentrating very hard on his eyes it seemed.  _She's still beautiful,_ he thought looking at her.  "Flat?"

He laughed slightly, setting her down.  "Yes, Virginia, your flat.  Home.  Where you sleep at night."

"Oh!  I'm still living at the Burrow."  He could hardly understand what she said as she spoke, but he caught the idea.

"Something tells me your parents don't want to see you like this at," he looked at his watch, "one in the morning."

"Oh shit."  Ginny sat heavily on the curb, putting her hands on her forehead.

Draco thought for a moment that she was going to be sick.  He knelt next to her and brushed some hair away from her face.  "Don't worry about it, Gin.  You can come back to my place.  I have a spare bedroom you can stay in."

She looked over at him, an angry look in her eyes.  "I don't think my parents would like it very much if I spent the night at Draco Malfoy's flat."

"Well, you know your choices," he said, standing.  He prayed to whatever God was out there that she would come stay with him.  He needed to talk to her again, when she wasn't so…shit-faced.  He looked down at her again.  She hadn't moved.  He wanted nothing more than to run his hands through the hair that had haunted his dreams for years.  Instead he dug them into the pockets of his robe, and waited for her to decide.  He almost didn't hear her when she spoke.

"Ok, I'll go to your flat.  That's easier to explain than this."

Draco smiled at no one in particular.  "Very well."

* * *

Ginny woke late the next morning.  She thought for a frantic moment that she had overslept and would be late to work before remembering that it was Saturday.  She relaxed for a moment, then she realized that she wasn't in her own bed.   She sat up and looked around.  The red satin sheets were definitely not something she would ever own, as she was more of a cotton girl.  The bed was also very soft, and the room sparsely decorated and neat, instead of the cheerful organized chaos of her own bedroom. She thought for a minute before the memories of the previous night came rushing over her.

She groaned as she lay back down in the bed.  _I can't believe I did that._  She closed her eyes and remembered everything, from Charlotte to the Ogden's to Draco carrying her to the bed she was in.  "Draco."  It was more of a whisper than anything, but to her surprise he answered.

"Yes?"

She jerked at the sound of his voice, opening her eyes and looking up at him.  He was holding a tray that held what looked like breakfast, complete with two aspirin.  She sat up and looked at him as he set the tray down. 

"Here, take these, you'll feel better."  He offered her the aspirin.

"No thanks, I don't need them.  But I am starving."  She eyed the eggs and toast hungrily.

"You don't need them?  You drank the equivalent of a bottle of Ogden's last night."

She looked up at him, indignant.  "And your point is?  I don't get hangovers.  If I did, I wouldn't drink.  Trust me, I've cleaned up after my brothers enough."  He looked slightly impressed for a moment and withdrew the hand holding the pills.  "Though, I must admit, I've never had that much to drink before.  I'm sorry that I was so…gone."

He raised an impressed eyebrow again.  "You remember last night?"

"Of course I do.  And I finally remember what I was trying to forget last night."  She stared into his eyes again, wanting to kiss him so bad she could taste it.

He leaned forward slightly and asked, "And what was that?"

She couldn't stop herself.  She put her hands on either side of his face and kissed him with a gentle passion.  He kissed her back, putting one hand on her cheek.  When they broke apart a few moments later she answered, "That.  You."

He looked amazed, as if he had never seen anything like her before.  "You…miss me?"

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  _What the hell, _she thought to herself, before speaking.  "I love you Draco."

She watched as his eyes got wide, and he looked disbelievingly at her.  "You…what?"

"You heard me Draco Malfoy."  She was starting to get frustrated.  This wasn't at all what she had wanted to happen.  "I love you."

She waited for his reply for a moment, before he kissed her.  It was a kiss full of love and life and everything that she hadn't gotten from the kisses of other men since Draco.  "I love you too, Virginia," he said quietly as he broke the kiss, trailing them down her neck.  She gasped as he kissed right on the spot he had found all those years ago.

"We can do this, Draco.  We can do it now.  We can make this work."  He looked at her, pain in his eyes.

"I'm not sure we can, Virginia."

She grew angry, quickly, her Weasley temper getting the best of her.  "And why not?  Your father can't stop us anymore, and my family will understand.  Or is it that you don't want to be seen in public with a Weasley on your arm."

Draco looked away from her.  "I must do what is expected of me, Gin.  I have to…"

She put a finger on his chin and turned his head, forcing him to look at her.  "No, you don't Draco.  And besides, I'm not the poor little Weasley that you fell in love with at Hogwarts."  His face went from pained to confused.  "The Joke shop, Ron plays for the Canons, I'm at the ministry, and dad got a huge promotion, in case you missed that."

Draco shook his head, remembering the day Arthur Weasley had been appointed the Minister of Magic.  He had smiled to himself as he read the article, and had kept it in a box, along with his other Weasley memorabilia.  

"I suppose daughter of the minister is not good enough for you." She said jokingly.  She looked him in the eye, speaking softly.  "Draco, I love you, and I will never be happy without you.  Please, can we try?"

He looked up at her and she saw tears in his eyes.  "I love you, Virginia."  It was a mere whisper, but it seemed to echo around the bare bedroom.

She waited, holding her breath for a moment.  Surely he was going to say something else.  When he didn't, she looked down at her hands, then back up at him before saying, "…But?"

"But this."  He kissed her again, making her head swim.  

When they broke apart she was more confused than ever.  "So, what does that mean?  Are we going to give it a go again?"

He nodded, kissing her again and again.  They spent the day in each others arms, reveling in the happiness that they had finally found in each other.


	5. Epilogue

"Draco, how do I look?"  She looked at herself in the full length mirror on the wall.  Her full length maroon dress didn't do much to cover her seven months pregnant stomach, and she felt like she looked fat.

He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.  "You look perfect, absolutely perfect."  He kissed her lightly on the neck.

They were headed to their second anniversary party that her family was throwing for them.  Just about everyone who was anyone would be there and she wanted to look nice.  She hadn't seen many of the people who were coming in two years, since hers and Draco's wedding.  

"Trust me, Gin."  She looked over her shoulder into his eyes and smiled before kissing him.  

"Alright, but just this once…don't think I'm going to make a habit out of it."

Draco feigned a scandalized look.  "Of course not!  Why would I think anything of the sort?"

Ginny laughed.  She couldn't believe how happy she had been the past three years.  It had taken a year to convince her parents and her brothers that she really loved him.  Ron had been the hardest, but she had won him over in the end.  Of course, Hermione did her part in helping, sleeping in another room until he agreed.  It had taken Ron one night of that to agree to let Ginny and Draco wed.  

Ginny and Draco's child would be the sixth in what was sure to be a long line of Weasley grandchildren.  Ron and Hermione had two, though they had been married six years now.  Percy and Penny had added just one to the brood, so far, but Ginny was pretty sure they were trying for another.  Fred and Angelina had produced two of the craziest children Ginny had ever seen.  Of course, crazy was just something that went along with the twins, so it wasn't surprising.

George had married Grace, a nice American girl that he had met in their shop one day.  Bill and Fleur had gotten together after she graduated, though they weren't married yet.  Charlie's wedding had been by far the most interesting.  It had happened just last year, and he had married a fellow Dragon handler, Rae.  Ginny shuddered at what their children would be like.

She drew herself out of thought and leaned up and kissed her husband soundly on the lips.  "We're going to be late to our own party if we don't leave now."  She grabbed her cloak and drew it around her shoulders, giving Draco a smile before she Apparated to the hall where the party was scheduled to be held.  Draco appeared next to her a moment after she arrived and put his arm around her waist.

"Come, love.  Our admirers await."

Ginny laughed as she entered the room.  She had never been so happy before, and she knew it was all because of the man at her side.


End file.
